Bret McKenzie

With but a handful of TV and radio shows under his belt, Bret McKenzie became one of New Zealand's highest-profile exports since "Lord of the Rings" film visionary Peter Jackson, starring as the prett...
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Flight Of The Conchords star Jemaine Clement is heading back to the small screen. New Zealand duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie wrapped a two-season run of their cult comedy series on America's HBO network in 2009, and started making plans to turn the project into a movie.
But that has yet to take off, and now Clement has revealed that bosses at HBO have commissioned a new four-episode series, which will feature Clement and frequent Conchords director Taika Waititi.
And Clement tells The Guardian he has other big plans for Flight of the Conchords, revealing, "Bret, (director) James (Bobin) and me, we all want to do a musical. It would be good to do something all together... I miss playing Flight of the Conchords gigs."
It's not clear when the new four-part series will air.

Disney
I know, that headline is trouble. You're always treading dangerous ground when you insist on defining what makes a good this or the right kind of that, as if there is no room for change or improvement when it comes to classic properties. Of course there is — Jason Segel's 2011 Muppet film approached the concept from an entirely different direction. It didn't hit all of its marks, but it prevailed overall in its conceit: make a movie not about Muppets, but about Muppet fandom. But Muppets Most Wanted, in absence of a clear mission statement and fueled largely by the monetary glimmers of the sequel game (the film's opening number admits this outright), has fewer marks readily available to hit. Landing in the ambiguity between the classic Muppet adventure formula and Segel's post-modern Henson appreciation party, Most Wanted feels like a failure on both counts. It doesn't know which kind of movie it wants to, or should, be. So it doesn't really be anything.
On the one hand, there's the half-cocked "get-the-band-back-together" through line, mimicking but not quite accomplishing the spirit of the 2011 picture. None of the Muppets are particularly likable or charming in this turn, and even fewer of them actually given anything to do. Kermit loses his s**t in the first act after a spat with Piggy and a barrage of insubordination from his troupe (provoked by the nefarious Dominic Badguy, Ricky Gervais), storms off in a huff, and gets swept up in a case of mistaken identity when his criminal doppelganger Constantine pulls the old switcheroo, landing Kermit in a Russian gulag. You'd think this would be a good opportunity for the second tier of Muppet favorites — Piggy, Fozzy, Gonzo, Scooter, Rowlf, et al — to go on a search and rescue... but save for a very brief sequence at the tail end of this achingly long film, none of the other Muppets are giving anything to do. They just hem and haw and perform the occasional "Indoor Running of the Bulls" while Dominic and Constantine scheme, rob banks, and bicker.
Disney
Meanwhile, Kermit has some fun in prison — a far more endearing plot that sees him befriending the merry convicts, organizing a penitentiary revue, and even winning the heart of the vicious warden Nadia (Tina Fey). If only we could spend more time with real Kermit and less time with fake Kermit and his second banana Gervais, an effectively boring pair.
On the other hand, though, there's the Muppet shtick that fans of The Great Muppet Caper and Muppet Treasure Island — and yes, The Muppet Show itself — will deem the movie's best material: CIA Agent Sam Eagle and Interpol Agent Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell) hot on the trail of Constantine and Dominic. Here, we get a different type of Muppet movie entirely from what Segel and the A-plot in Most Wanted are opting: the old fashioned vaudeville act, with Sam standing as an independent entity from his googly-eyed brethren, on a goofy, musical prowl with Burrell that fuels the film with its best and most consistent chuckles. Their "Interrogation Song" number is outstanding, exemplifying the many talents of Flight of the Conchords' Bret McKenzie, who wrote all the music for this and the previous film.
Unfortunately, Muppets Most Wanted isn't sure that it wants to be The Great Muppet Caper, beheld so stubbornly to its Segelian roots. There's a palpable compulsion to stick with this agonizingly self-aware, nostalgia-crazy, brimming-beacons-of-the-past-in-a-callous-today theme that doesn't work a fraction as well as it did in the 2011 film. Without a legitimate celebration of any of our favorite characters, how could it? With so much going on in this movie, and such a lengthy runtime at just under two hours, it's a sure sign of failure that we walk away feeling like we spent barely any time with the Muppets.
2.5/5
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2011's The Muppets was the franchise's coming out party to a new generation of fans, and director James Bobin helmed that film as a love letter to all things felt. For the upcoming sequel, Muppets Most Wanted, the Muppets are going global. There's a case of mistaken identity keeping Kermit the Frog locked away, while an imposter-frog has taken his place, and it's up to the rest of the Muppets to save him. We sat down with Bobin to talk about how the director kept his sequel true to the franchise's roots, the hidden struggles of filming puppets in the real world, and which Muppet is his absolute favorite.
Bobin isn't interested in cramming in too many elements from the classic Muppet movies into his newest project, and it seems that the director wants to carve out a unique chapter into the Muppets saga. So while there aren’t a ton of references to the older movies in Muppets Most Wanted, the director still wants to do right by the long line of films that came before, and ensure that the Muppets still feel like the Muppets, saying, “We really wanted to honor what those early movies felt like and, it’s a great blend of fun, mayhem, craziness. At the same time, there is an emotional core of family and that was the balance that we wanted in that first movie and there’s gonna be a similar balance in this one.” It also doesn't hurt to have Bret McKenzie, half of Flight of the Concords, crafting kooky and award winning music for the film. Bobin goes on to say, “We have the added benefit of our Oscar winning composer and songwriter. So he’s writing all the songs in this movie too. When you do a movie with Muppets that are just funny to look at, and you juxtapose that and blend it with the kinds of music that Bret’s writing them, again, we’re spanning the gamut here.”
Along with McKenzie adding his weird and wonderful music to the Muppet's latest adventure, the film is also filled with celebrities rubbing elbows with Kermit and Ms. Piggy, but according to Bobin, you couldn't just bribe your way onto the set. Each cameo had to fit the film's tone perfectly. "There was no scenario in which we said this person wants to do it and we’re gonna squeeze a cameo in for them. It’s gotta be organic and it has to just feel right," the director explained. The film being so selective about who shows up and who doesn't will pay off in the final cut, according to Bobin: "I think the great part of the cameos is when you’re watching a movie and you have no idea what’s coming and all of a sudden there’s this famous face who might seamlessly blend into the scene or might be completely opposite of what you think the scene’s gonna be. So there’s a lot of those and we run the gamut from Grammy Award winning musicians all the way to Oscar winning actors and everything in between. It’s gonna be a very eclectic, interesting mix of people who would never otherwise be in a film together."
Adding yet another chapter to the long history of Muppet films isn't all fun and games, however. There are actually a load of issues to contend with when most of your principle cast is 2 feet tall and made out of fuzz. "One of the challenges is shooting the Muppets around real life," said Bobin, "[is that] for most of the movie we’re shooting them on stages where we build three and a half feet off the ground so the floors are puppet-able and easy for the puppeteers to move around. When you’re in and around regular life and the regular world it’s a little more challenging to frame the Muppets in the world without squishing a bunch of people in the ground."
While Bobin clearly had a great time bringing all of the Muppets to the big screen for a second time, that doesn't mean he's above playing favorites. "I'm very partial to Fozzie," he revealed, "he’s got such a sweet innocence and a lot of times, people tell me I think I'm funny when I'm not so maybe I feel like I'm partly him. He looks funny and I just love him."
Muppets Most Wanted arrives in theaters on March 21.
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In their 2011 film The Muppets, the gang got back together to save their old theater from a maniacal oil tycoon. This March, they're re-uniting once again, and they're taking their show on the road with Muppets Most Wanted. Specifically to Europe, where Kermit's striking resemblance to the jewel thief Constantine derails their tour and gets them mixed up in an international crime spree. After Kermit gets arrested and thrown into a Russian prison, it's up to the Muppets to try and save their leader and foil Constantine's evil plans. Complicating things are Tina Fey's prison warden Nadia, a sinister tour manager played by Ricky Gervais and Ty Burrell as an Interpol agent who may find dealing with the Muppets harder than catching a criminal.
Muppets Most Wanted will pick up right where the last film left off, saying, “The end of that film is kind of the beginning of this film and so the opening number of the next film is a great number that I actually am a part of with all the other guys.” And that’s just the very beginning of what promises to be a massive, music-packed spectacle.
Flight of the Concords star Bret McKenzie is back as well, with brand new numbers that are sure to be just as catchy as “Man or Muppet.” Walter revealed that the new score is “incredible,” and that he feels McKenzie has “topped himself.” And while neither he nor Kermit have a solo number this time around, they did get to take part in a lot of the big song-and-dance scenes. Miss Piggy, meanwhile, is rumored to have plenty of diva moments in this new film; Kermit estimated that she had about six musical numbers. And while she wouldn’t confirm if she did indeed get to sing the bulk of the score, she did reveal that there was one song that McKenzie wrote especially for her, which she described as “an old dance hit” that would have everyone in the theater grooving along. The song Kermit’s most excited for, however, is actually sung by Fey when he first arrives at her prison: “she sings a great song called 'The Big House' about welcoming me to prison” that reveals just how much Nadia loves her job. Walter also agreed that it’s a song not to miss, and added that Fey “sings like a nightingale.” After all of the musical numbers that were featured on 30 Rock, we really shouldn’t be surprised.
Unfortunately for Muppet fans who are hoping for another rendition of their most famous song, Kermit has some bad news for you, revealing “We don’t do 'Rainbow Connection' in this movie.” Also gone? Much of Walter’s whistling, a special talent that he discovered in last film’s eleventh hour. He explained the reason it isn’t a large feature of the film by remarking “You don’t wanna repeat yourself, right?” That seems to be a big theme for this new film, which breaks away from much of the warm sentimentality of the last film in favor of zany adventures.
And there will be plenty of adventure, including a moment where Walter is forced to jump from the top of one moving train to another in order to help rescue Kermit, who described his own sections of the film as “very dramatic.” The Muppets even got the chance to do their own stunts for the film, although Miss Piggy’s favorite one is a bit less dramatic than Walter’s: “I love the stunts where put on a beautiful white gown and I walk down an aisle.” Before you rush out and buy the happy couple a wedding gift, though, Kermit warns that the scene is “not what you think.”
Although they wouldn’t say much about that rumored wedding, one thing they were willing to talk a great deal about were the big names they’ve gotten to star in this film. Both Walter and Kermit enjoyed working with Fey the most, as they both had “big fun with her.” And it seems like their scenes together may have left Walter with a bit of a crush, as he described her performance as “really terrifying and sexy at the same time.” Another star whose part is sure to excite audiences is Burrell, who Kermit promises is “extremely funny” in his scenes with Sam the Eagle. Piggy, meanwhile, most enjoyed her scenes with Gervais, whom she described as “a very funny man and one of the best extras I’ve ever worked with.” The comedian is playing Dominic Badguy, a character Walter described as “really two faced and completely charming but sinister,” before adding that he greatly enjoyed their time together on set.
But those aren’t the only stars who are set to pal around with the Muppets this time. After all, it wouldn’t be a Muppets movie without a slew of celebrity cameos. Said Walter “There are a surprising number. Even for a Muppet movie.” Fans of the gang will also be excited by some returning faces, including Pepe the King Prawn, who Walter revealed has “a bigger part than [in] the last one,” and some friends who haven’t popped up since the Muppet Show days like Annie Sue Pig, Link Hogthrab and Lou. “We try to bring the whole crew back again,” says Kermit.
Muppets Most Wanted arrives in theaters on March 21.
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Warner Bros.
Give Martin Freeman an empty room and he'll give you comedy. The best parts of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — an admittedly mishandled movie in large — involved his subdued grimaces, his Chaplinian waddling, and the way he carried himself with equal parts neurosis and snark in every scene. If there is one primary misstep of An Unexpected Journey's terrifically improved sequel, The Desolation of Smaug, it is the spiritual absence of Bilbo Baggins.
Freeman's good-natured but disgruntled Hobbit takes a backseat to the Dwarf team in this chapter of Peter Jackon's three-part saga, distributing the heavy lifting among the front lines of the bearded mooks. Thankfully, we're not shafted with too much "Thorin's destiny" backstory, instead focusing on the trek forward, through far more interesting terrain than we got last time around. The Dwarves voyage through a trippy woodland that'll conjur fond memories of The Legend of Zelda's unnavigable forest levels and inside the borders of Lake-town, a man-occupied working class monarchy that is more vivid and living than any place we have seen yet in the series. And while Unexpected Journey's goblin caverns might have been cool to look at, none of the quests in Desolation feel nearly as close to a tangential detour. Every step the Dwarves take is one that beckons us closer to the central, increasingly engaging story.
Desolation is not entirely without its curiosities. While Gandalf's mission to meet the Necromancer serves to connect the Hobbit trilogy to the Lord of the Rings movies, the occasional cuts over to the wizard's pursuits are primarily distracting and just a bit dull. Although we're happy to welcome the Elf race back into our Middle-earth adventures, it's easy to imagine a version of this story that didn't involve side characters like Legolas and Kate... I mean, Tauriel... and still felt whole (perhaps even more cohesive). The latter's love affair with hot Dwarf Kili seems like a last minute addition to the canon, and one not built on anything beyond the cinematic rule that two sexually compatible attractive people should probably have something brewing alongside all the action.
Warner Bros.
But the most egregious of crimes committed by Desolation is, unquestionably, the shafting of Bilbo Baggins to secondary status. Yes, he proves himself a savior to his fellow travelers four times in the film, but long stretches of action go by without so much as a word from the wide-eyed burglar. When he finally takes center stage in his theatrical face-off with Smaug — an exercise in double-talk reminiscent of Oedipus outsmarting the Sphinx — the film picks up with a new, cool energy, with a chilling fun laced around the impending doom of their back-and-forth. We've been waiting since the first frames of Unexpected to see how the dragon material will pay off, and it does in spades... albeit in the final third of Desolation, but with equal parts gravitas and fun, to reunite us with our Tolkien passions once more.
Benedict Cumberbatch's dragon doesn't do much to subvert expectation — he's slithering, sadistic, vain, manipulative, and vaguely Londonian. But tradition feels good here. Smaug's half hour spent toying with the mousey Bilbo (who does get a chance to showcase his aptitude at small-scale physical comedy here) is terrific in every way.
Its Hobbit problem aside, Desolation proves itself worthy of Bilbo's past proclamation. "I'm going on an adventure!" more than pays off here, in the form of mystifying boat rides, edge-of-your-seat efforts in dragon slaying, and the most joyful action set piece we've seen in years. Twelve Dwarves, twelve barrels, and one roaring river amounts for enough fun to warrant your trip to the theater for this latest outing into Middle-earth.
3.5/5
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"In the marmalade forest/ Between the make-believe trees/ In a cottage cheese cottage/ Lives"... Bret McKenzie. The comedic songbird — who is known for making up half of the music-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords — is in the works with Fox to create an animated comedy, according to TVGuide.
The untitled show is set to follow the going-ons of a group of employees at an "almost-obsolete" NASA space center in Boulder, Colorado. Mckenzie will executive produce the show alongside King of the Hill scribes Tony Gama-Lobo and Rebecca May. As of yet, there's no confirmation that McKenzie will lend his voice to the show, but we're hoping that his unmistakable accent will make an appearance or two.
McKenzie is currently overseeing the music for Muppets Most Wanted.
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Actor Bret Mckenzie is developing an animated comedy for U.S. network Fox. The Oscar-winning Flight Of The Concords star is writing and will executive produce the show which will centre upon a group of NASA employees working at a space station in Boulder, Colorado.

Man or woman cannot survive on DVD box sets and possible Netflix reboots alone when it comes to enjoying our favorite TV casts. What better way for television's most dynamic duos to live on than in podcast form? With that thinking in mind, former co-stars of the beloved '90s Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete &amp; Pete, Michael Maronna (Big Pete) and Danny Tamberelli (Little Pete)are hosting their own podcast. "The Adventures of Danny and Mike," will send them out on the road to try their hand at different jobs such as guest-bartending in Montreal or managing an ice cream truck in Brooklyn. I guess that means Tamberelli will have to take a break from touring with his jam band. The recent announcement got us thinking of what other former duos should team up again to join the podcast-sphere.
Larry David &amp; Leon Black
While some would argue that Larry and Jeff from Curb Your Enthusiasm would make the most compatible hosts, we think it would take Leon (played by J.B Smoove) to really push Larry's buttons and make for much more interesting airtime. The two already briefly reunited for David’s HBO Film, Clear History, but that gives us just a taste of what these two masters of improv could accomplish if given their own show. Let's call it "Tit for Tat" for now.
Daria Morgendorffer &amp; Jane Lane
If you’re going to tease millennials with a Pete &amp; Pete reunion, they why not give them what they really want – a Daria and Jane reunion. They've already mastered the art of voice-acting, so a podcast would be a natural transition for both Tracy Grandstaff (Daria) and Wendy Hoopes (Jane). They could talk about the "Plastic of the Week" and expose everyday hypocrisy in a very, very soothing voice. Granted, Grandstaff's schedule is tight being a vice-president at Comedy Central and all and Hoopes is still acting, but we think they could make it work for the sake of the greater good.
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement
These comedic troubadours from New Zealand started off as a BBC radio show, so it makes sense for them to return to their roots. Flight of the Conchords made an early exit from HBO – leaving us with an emotional void that only the sweet falsetto of Bret McKenzie and smooth dulcet tones of Jermaine Clement can fill.
Dr. Frasier &amp; Dr. Miles Crane
For the NPR-listening, tweed-clad set, a spin-off Frasier podcast would be just the thing to ease into your morning and fend off road rage with the some spirited discourse from our favorite buttoned-down WASP brothers. Kelsey Grammer would be a natural fit, having already played a radio host in the sitcom and David Hyde Pierce could diagnose people's problems with faux psychiatry. Having won a Tony, perhaps he could occasionally break out into song while Grammer dishes out dirt on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Rickie Vasquez &amp; Rayanne Graff
Claire Danes may have received all the accolades, but for us, My So-Called Life revolved around Rickie &amp; Rayanne played by Wilson Cruz and A.J. Langer. Their chemistry was unmistakable and their sartorial choices have probably inspired thousands of tumblr themes, so why not bring this fierce twosome back together? Cruz can fluctuate into talking about modern gay culture and basic b**tches while Langer or shall we call her "Lady Courtenay," can reveal what her day-to-day life is like being married to an English Earl.
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The cast of FX's The Americans has officially been Jane Austen-fied. First, Matthew Rhys was cast as Mr. Darcy in Death Comes to Pemberley, BBC's three-part miniseries based on the P.D. James sequel to Austen's Pride And Prejudice. Now, Keri Russell stars in Austenland as a woman obsessed with Mr. Darcy who travels to look for love in Austenland, a British resort that recreates the Austen era.
JJ Feild, Jane Seymour, Bret McKenzie, Jennifer Coolidge, Georgia King and James Callis costar in the directorial debut of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre co-writer Jerusha Hess, adapted from the like-titled novel by Shannon Hale. The film, which premiered at Sundance in January, also marks Twilight author Stephenie Meyer's first independent producing venture.
For an English novelist who died in the early 1800s, Hollywood can't seem to get enough of Jane Austen. From multiple adaptations of Pride and Prejudice (how many Mr. Darcys can there possibly be?), to Sense and Sensibility and Emma... heck, the author's personal life has even been romanticized for the screen (see: Anne Hathaway in Becoming Jane). Watch the trailer for the latest tribute to Austen, then open its pages on August 16.
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How many times has pillow-lipped actress Jennifer Coolidge saved an otherwise awful movie? And she's built a career saving scenes in American Pie, Legally Blonde, and every David Gest — no, wait, that's Liza Minnelli's ex-husband — every Christopher Gest mockumentary. She does it yet again in Austenland, which debuted Friday afternoon at the Sundance Film Festival.
Director and co-writer Jerusha Hess (who also co-wrote Napoleon Dynamite) joked before the movie that everyone had come to see Bret McKenzie's abs, but not only did the flying Concorde not take off his shirt in the movie (sadly), it was Coolidge who got just about every laugh from the reluctant audience. The movie stars Keri Russell, her Felicity mane tamed and mousey, as Jane, a nerdy, lonely woman obsessed the Jane Austen who travels to England to spend two weeks at Austenland, a resort where all attendees must dress and behave like their in one of the Regency Era literary heroine's novels. Love awaits each female traveler thanks to the amorous attention of an actor.
But it's not Jane's story we care about, it's Miss Charming's, a fellow traveler who has more money than sense. Like just about every Coolidge character, has no idea what is appropriate in any given situation. Coolidge tries on different accents, different mannerisms, and all sorts of outlandish fabulosity to play the most charmingly self-unaware woman you would ever meet.
Don't we want a whole movie of this? Melissa McCarthy, another scene-stealer, got an Oscar nomination for Bridesmaids and is now popping up everywhere, including a lead role in Identity Theft with Jason Bateman. What will it take for Coolidge to get the same treatment? Maybe something with her and Anna Faris as a dim but enthusiastic mother/daughter team who travel to a tropical resort looking for love? (That's a free idea for all you development executives out there.) Or even just a simple comedy where she gets to be the star of the show rather than being second banana. Let's make that happen already.
As for Austenland, it's as much of a beautiful looking trifle as the resort itself. The production is astounding in terms of period dress and the performances by Russell, Coolidge, McKenzie, the dreamy JJ Feild (as Russell's love interest), and an astounding Jane Seymour – well-preserved and underused on whatever back shelf Hollywood has placed her since her medical days as Dr. Quinn – as Mrs. Wattlesbrook, the owner of Austenland. The trouble isn't with the people, but the story, which sort of goes in all directions at once and makes what should be a quick and sweet movie into something of an ambling slog. It starts out with good intentions, showing women that being obsessed with fictional romance at the expense of living their real lives is dangerous, but ends with the sort of tired rom-com tropes that it purports to be smarter and better than. We have only Coolidge to thank for it's best gags, a comment on her stunning ability to turn even the lightest line into a comedic explosion. Can't we get that for 90 minutes? Pretty please, already?
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Served as the music supervisor for musical comedy feature "The Muppets"; wrote five songs for the films soundtrack including "Man or Muppet" and "Life's a Happy Song"

Created and co-starred with Clement on the HBO series "The Flight of the Conchords"

Returned to Middle Earth, playing Lindir in "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien and directed by Peter Jackson

Reprised elf role in Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"

Formed the musical comedy act Flight of the Conchords with Clement

Made feature acting debut with a minor role in Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring"; cast in a non-speaking role of an elf counsel alongside his real-life father Peter McKenzie as the great king Elendil

Produced, wrote, and co-starred with Clement in ""Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odyssey," about their trip to the South by Southwest festival in Austin, TX

At 11, won a battle-of-the-bands contest with the group The Blue Samanthas

Released the Flight of the Conchords EP The Distant Future; won Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album

Met Jermaine Clement while attending Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

With Clement, released Flight of the Conchords' debut album Folk the World Tour

Flight of the Conchords made U.S. TV debut on HBO's "One Night Stand"

Featured in the documentary "Frodo Is Great... Who Is That?!!" based around his minor appearances in the "Lord of the Rings" films

Guest starred with Clement on the long-running animated series "The Simpsons" (Fox)

Summary

With but a handful of TV and radio shows under his belt, Bret McKenzie became one of New Zealand's highest-profile exports since "Lord of the Rings" film visionary Peter Jackson, starring as the pretty, ill-shaven, romantic half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords. The "band," which McKenzie and partner Jemaine Clement described as "New Zealand's fourth most popular digi-folk parodists," became an unassuming comedy phenomenon for their R&B and hip-hop-infused songs about the mundane superfluities of love and robots taking over the world, and for their bone-dry, self-satirizing eponymous HBO series. Playing themselves as frumpy, barely functional losers doomed by their own naiveté to musical obscurity in New York City, McKenzie and Clement not only carved out a niche as actors, comedians, musicians, writers and producers of their own show, but as unofficial - and self-consciously inept - kiwi spokesmen as well.